Always Fighting // Kyrie Irving

Delayed Reaction

Sabrina- 

"SABRINA!" I kid you not when I say Danielle screamed in my ear the second we got in the car. After slipping the keys into the ignition, I place my hand on her shoulder and look her square in the eye. 

"Before you go off on Kevin, I would like you to know I am very proud of how you managed yourself back there. Obviously not staring was too hard, but other than that you weren't overly freaking out." 

"BECAUSE HE SHOOK MY HAND SHIRTLESS. SAB, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" She took a deep breath in a failed attempt to calm herself. "I finally meet the literal Love of my life and he's glistening. Actually glistening." She lurches violently against the back of the car and for a second I'm scared she's going to break it. "As a forewarning, I am now coming to every single game with you." 

"Oh no," I groan. "If at all possible, I have strengthened this monster inside you." A devilish grin spreads over her face. 

"No, my dear Sabrina, you have only awoken my heart to deeper more meaningful feelings." 

"Biggest mistake I've ever made in my life."  

Silently, I'm cursing Kevin Love for ever existing. Well, that's not entirely true. I'm asking him, in very colorful language, why he would step out the shower dressed in a towel and then stand next to two woman. More specifically one woman who couldn't bring herself to look anywhere but his chest. Until she saw his eyes, then she couldn't bring herself to look anywhere but his eyes. 

Because, I realize that I will quite possible have to deal with this Kevin Love addict for the rest of my life. 

_______________________________________

I never like seeing my dad after his team beats the Cavs. He doesn't really talk about it, or rub it in my face.(Though, I'm sure he would if he hadn't left his daughter for most of her life. There seems to be a sort of... do everything perfectly to make up for it.) I just don't like seeing the same face that Kyrie saw only yesterday and looking at from a daughter's perspective as opposed to a Cavaliers fan perspective. 

Regardless, when he asked me over to his house, I couldn't really bring myself to say no to him. 

And as much as I really don't want to admit it, a large reason I don't want to see Kyrie and Steve in close proximity is because it reminds me that I still haven't told Ky. It reminds me that to him, I'm still a girl who's dad left when she was born and who spent her whole life with a single parent. Which isn't the truth and I feel guilty for making him believe it. But it's too late now that we are in the Finals. I don't know how he will react and I don't want to be blamed for throwing him off his game when we need him most. So I decided I'll wait till after this series is over and then tell him. 

But to see Kerr's face right now twisting my conscious angrily around. Why did you of all people have to be my father? I know that's an unfair thought because without him I might not even be in the position. I wouldn't be. I wouldn't be dating Kyrie and I wouldn't be able to afford tickets to see the Cavaliers. Without him, I might be wondering why my biological father is a douche and wondering why he couldn't be like, and NBA coach or  something. 

With him, I feel guilty,  without him, I wouldn't have the reason to feel guilty but I'd wouldn't be with the person who makes this such a problem.

Kyrie- 

This may seem totally strange, but there is no practice I love more than a practice after a lost game. Sure, T-Lue is killing us with drills, making us run them over and over and over to make sure we got them right. It just the feeling of our whole team coming together and saying "look, we can be better and we will be better because we know what we did wrong." 

We're a team that fixes things, we don't slip under pressure from our opponents. We rise up because we know that any team can be as good as another as long as you play smart.

"Double T," I yell over to Tristan. "Guard me." Although my primary defenders in a game, will technically be Curry and Thompson, I always practice driving to the rim against the bigs in case my perimeter shots aren't falling. Dellavedova, who was guarding me, switches onto LeBron. 

"Come at me then, brother, 'cuz I ain't coming over there to get you." Tristan says back, holding his position by the basket. J.R comes over to guard my drive and instinctively drop  my body lower to the ground, chest forward, ball back. I lean into him with my right shoulder, the hand that has the ball, then turn around and push off with my left while switching the basketball to that hand. Having put my defender behind me with that, I push towards the rim, stuttering under the basket and end up kissing it high of the glass with a left hand layup. 

"Dude," J.R says, as we reset. "That was damn unfair. I thought I was guarding you well." 

I don't bother telling him those are the kind of moved my dad made me practice all year long when I was a kid. He always told me I couldn't be just a three point shooter. He said if I didn't learn to get my own shot when I wanted it, why would any future team draft me? Perimeter shooting is iffy, but if you have the handles to drive to the rim as an undersized guard, now that's what makes a good basketball player. 

We practice spin-offs, left hand finishes, right hand finishes, under the rim flip ups, anything that could possibly happen in the square of big guys, we practiced it.

This is all in preparation for the big game two in Oracle. All we can hope for is to at least split the games and go back to Cleveland tied at 1-1. But we all know that requires each of us to play at an all time high level. Better than ever and willing to be even greater. 

A/N 

Sorry for the short chapter guys, but I'll be gone all day today and wanted to get today's chapter up. Two quick things. 

1: Wow, I'm semi bummed about how the trilogy of finals is going. However, for me personally, this is just a chance to step up and defend the King because honestly, we owe everything to him. I wanted you to know, though, unless something changes, when I drafted this book it stops after the 2016 NBA Finals, which means the third match up won't be in here. Just a heads up. 

2. Thank you all so much for 5k reads. That's incredible and it blows my mind every time I see it. This all because of you guys. Your support and comments and votes mean so much and really inspire me to deliver quicker updater. So, thank you all!

-Annie